Helen folded her lips into a thin line but kept them shut.
Xander glanced to his mother. There was a mix of pride and frustration on her face, but mostly of love. She dipped her head, granting him permission to do what he would have done with or without the royal seal of approval.
I’m coming, Rafe, he thought, returning to the glistening city on the other side of the crystal wall. Hold on. I’m coming.
9
Lyana
Lyana was stuck with her family and the royal advisors for what felt like an eternity, but it made the hours after the meeting fly. Between gathering supplies with Cassi, avoiding another lecture from her brother, and straining to catch a glimpse of the remaining houses as they arrived, Lyana was caught by surprise when she glanced outside to find the burning glow of dusk upon them.
A thrill ran up her spine.
“We should go,” she chirped, spinning toward Cassi, who was on the floor of her room, stuffing two packs with the odds and ends they’d managed to gather earlier that afternoon. Some food. A fire starter. Logs. Oil lanterns. A change of clothes, complete with warm boots and furs meant for this tundra the raven wasn’t used to. “It’s going to get really cold out there without the sun.”
“He’s in a cave,” her friend drawled.
Lyana eyed her pointedly.
Cassi sighed. “Well, if you’re going to be like that, let’s just get this over with already.”
Jumping from the edge of the bed, Lyana flew to her friend, crashing into Cassi with her arms thrown open for an enthusiastic hug. “Thank you for this. I mean it.”
Cassi squeezed her tightly before pushing her off with a laugh. “You can take the heavier pack, Princess, since this was all your idea in the first place.”
Lyana snorted, but the sound quickly changed to a groan of protest when she lifted the bundle from the ground, struggling to clip it around her wings. “What’s in this?”
“All the firewood you demanded,” Cassi said sweetly. “And the water.”
“What do you have in yours?”
“Food…”
Lyana stared at her, frowning. “And?”
“The lanterns.”
“The hollow lanterns?”
Cassi easily shifted her pack around her large speckled wings and fastened the straps in place. “They’ve got some oil inside.” Lyana opened her mouth, but Cassi cut her off, “We could repack everything, but there isn’t much time if you want to sneak out before they close the main doors.”
Lyana flared her nostrils but sealed her lips shut.
Logic.
She hated when Cassi wielded logic like a weapon against her. It was frustratingly effective. But then she remembered the raven, the cave, and the adventure ahead, and a smile widened her lips. “Let’s go.”
Cassi left first, easing through the door and letting it close behind her. Those massive owl wings were too obvious, so whenever they traveled through the main entrance, they did so separately. Lyana waited the customary ten minutes, bouncing on her toes, before lifting the hood of her servant’s jacket and opening the door. There was nothing Lyana could do to hide her ivory wings, rare even among the doves, but she could conceal her features and her status—a trick she and Cassi had used numerous times to sneak from the palace.
At this time of night, the atrium bustled with people. Servants were switching shifts. Dinners were being delivered. Guards were changing posts. With the unorthodox delay of the courtship trials, messengers were zipping back and forth between the palace advisors and the representatives from each of the houses. And though the daily market normally set up in the warm entrance hall was closed, preparations for tomorrow’s festivities were underway, creating the perfect distraction.
Hidden in bland clothes and sticking to the edges of the room, Lyana went unnoticed as she followed a group through the towering east exit and into the massive hall leading to the outside. The exterior door was sectioned into several parts, so when they had formal celebrations such as the one that would take place the following evening, the thirty-foot entrance could be utilized. But usually, on a somewhat normal night like tonight, they kept one or two smaller sections opened, manned by a couple of guards.
Lyana tucked her chin into her chest, bowing her head to hide her features in the shadows of her hood. In all her years of life, there’d never been any malicious attacks on her family or her people, so she wasn’t surprised when the guards failed to pay any close attention to who was coming and who was leaving. The House of Peace was just that—peaceful. Suspicion and distrust just weren’t things they knew. Lucky for Lyana, rebellious princesses weren’t either.
Cassi found her outside. They rounded a few buildings on foot before launching into the sky, racing for the sky bridge. When they got there, Lyana took Cassi’s pack and left her friend standing watch at the entrance of the cave.
The cavern was impossibly dark. Even with an oil lantern lit, Lyana struggled to see beyond the dull halo of light immediately surrounding her. In the end, it was the soft chattering of teeth that led her through the shadows.
The raven lay right where she’d left him, curled on his stomach, onyx wings spread like a blanket over his body, though they didn't seem to help. His wheezing breaths echoed across the empty chamber, loud in the silence. And even in the dull glow she could see he was trembling, shivering against the cold stone, lips tinged blue as puffs of air billowed out of them. But that wasn’t what made Lyana gasp, nearly dropping the lantern with surprise.
His skin was healed—not completely, not totally, but enough to make her catch her breath.
Lyana moved the lantern closer, so the golden glow illuminated his face. The burns that had marred his body only a few hours before, the ones she had lacked the time to heal, had all but disappeared. The raw, wet stretches of flesh were dried and unblemished. The bumps and flaps were smooth. Red bloodstains remained, but the open boils had vanished.
It’s impossible, Lyana thought, shaking her head. Impossible. Unless…
Unless he was like her.
Unless, somehow, he had magic too.
Her heart leapt into her throat, excitement explosive as it coursed through her unchecked. Careful not to wake him, she tugged away the furs she had left draped over him, examining the planes of his back. The fabric that had melted onto his frame was still hardened and burnt, but no longer adhered to him like glue. She lifted the scraps away easily, eyes widening as unmarked pearly skin was revealed, practically shimmering against the dark depths of his obsidian feathers.
Lyana paused.
It wasn’t practically shimmering—it was actually shimmering. Silver swirls glowed softly, twirling beneath his skin like the muted glitter of starlight through a gossamer curtain, subtle but undeniable.
Magic.
Lyana lifted her free hand and ran her finger down the center of his spine, mesmerized by the way his muscles and his magic rippled beneath her touch. The contours of his back were well defined, reminding her of the icy hills of her homeland as they sparkled in the sun. But unlike that barren land, he was warm, brimming with life and power. Her mind flashed back to his battle with the dragon—how deftly his onyx wings had soared, how lethal those twin blades had looked in his hands, the authority with which he’d wielded them.